Bayfront parking? Might need extra quarters

Port considers Sunday meter enforcement

Feeding meters along San Diego's Embarcadero could soon be more costly. The Port of San Diego is considering rate hikes on some or all of its 1,100 metered public parking spots in the city. Chris Nichols/U-T San Diego.

Feeding meters along San Diego's Embarcadero could soon be more costly. The Port of San Diego is considering rate hikes on some or all of its 1,100 metered public parking spots in the city. Chris Nichols/U-T San Diego.

Visitors to the Embarcadero and Shelter Island may soon need extra quarters for street parking along San Diego’s bustling bayfront, perhaps even on Sundays.

After years of unchanged prices for its parking meters, the Port of San Diego is considering a rate hike for some or all of its 1,100 metered spaces. Those spots are located along the eastern side of San Diego Bay and on Shelter Island.

The top rate could jump to $2.50 per hour — double the current figure and likely the highest maximum in the county, according to one proposal floated by the agency. The port district is also mulling whether to enforce street parking on Sundays and extend the hours of operation for parking meters, it said in a news release Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the port said some of the agency’s meter rates haven’t changed since 1992. Higher rates would “better reflect the current demand and market for public parking” along the bayfront, the agency said in a statement.

The ideas received a mostly chilly reception Wednesday afternoon from locals and tourists in the Embarcadero area.

Sharon Cloward, president of the San Diego Port Tenants Association, said she’s concerned that a rate hike could drive away some customers.

“There are a lot of mom-and-pop shops on Shelter Island, and they depend on people parking right in front,” said Cloward, who added that her group hasn’t formed an official position on the rate-increase concepts.

Parking is at a premium along the Embarcadero, where tourists, government offices and local businesses compete for limited space near attractions such as the USS Midway Museum, the Star of India and the shops and restaurants at Seaport Village.

Recent construction projects aimed at beautifying the waterfront and opening public access to the bayfront have eliminated hundreds of public parking spaces, creating an even more acute parking squeeze.

The port’s 1,100 metered spaces represent a large chunk of street parking in downtown San Diego. By comparison, San Diego has about 5,500 spaces citywide.

Like most metered-parking systems, the port’s is currently enforced from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, except on holidays. The agency charges up to $1.25 per hour.

On Tuesday, its board postponed a vote that could have raised the maximum rate to $2.50 per hour. The port staff had asked for a postponement on discussions and any vote regarding the parking issue.

Instead, the agency plans to further study the matter and hold a forum on Dec. 2 to gather public input before deciding whether to proceed with changes, a port spokeswoman said. That meeting is set for 4 to 6 p.m. at the Training Room of the port’s Administration Building, 3165 Pacific Highway in San Diego.

San Diego resident Ana Lee seemed to have made up her mind by Wednesday afternoon as she strolled along the Embarcadero. Lee said she would continue to avoid the area’s metered parking spaces because the pricing is already too expensive and open spots are hard to find.

She parks at a Seaport Village pay lot and gets her parking validated at the local shops. But her friend Gale Kwon of Los Angeles said as an occasional visitor, the extra street parking charges are “worth paying to see all the attractions here.”